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Deborah G. Lau

Enunciation of Culture Through Graphic Design Practice: Developing A Visual Language Using the Chinese Peony Flower for Narratives of Chinese-Canadian Identity

Through visual and textual research, this thesis project investigates the relationship between graphic design and cultural identity through graphic design practice-the act of image and meaning making. The goal is to use the Chinese peony flower in the process of developing a visual language that reflects and refracts the nuanced nature of the text of Chinese-Canadian identity. Rather than using reproductions of images, the process of developing a localized visual language allows for critical discourse on issues of cultural identity. The process challenges stagnant views of contemporary cultural production and offers insight on cultural identity as constructed and fluid process that is open to influences. Moreover, the research is culminated in the final artifact, Of Peonies and Hybrid Histories, a collection of stories, written by second generation Chinese-Canadians, which are transformed using the language developed from the peony.